Exodus 35:30, commentary and pictures

Moses told Israel that God had personally chosen Bezaleel, grandson of Hur of Judah, for the sanctuary work. God filled him with His Spirit in wisdom, understanding, knowledge and craftsmanship for engraving, designing, embroidery and weaving, and joined Aholiab of Dan with him to teach and gave skill to every willing, wise-hearted worker with them. The ability they used was not merely human cleverness but a gift from God beyond nature, given to carry out His will and show His power and glory. He still gives the same tact, skill and wisdom today to all who take part in His cause when they depend wholly on Him, let Him guide them, and work as accountable to Him. Skill alone does not ensure faithfulness, for later descendants of these gifted lines turned from God and used their God-given ability for hire to heathen rulers to their dishonor.

Call and Equipment Described

Moses announced to Israel that the Lord had called Bezaleel by name for the sanctuary work, identifying him as the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. That calling belonged to the provision of chosen workmen specially endowed by God with skill and wisdom for constructing the wilderness tabernacle. The tabernacle represented His power and majesty, and God gave His people wisdom to carry out His will in building it.

The call belongs to the account of the earthly tabernacle in which God instructed Moses and provided skilled workers for the tabernacle and its furnishings. On the mount He showed Moses a model of the heavenly sanctuary and gave precise directions for its size, form, materials and furnishings, which Moses recorded and read to the leaders. The design was God's, not Moses' or the workmen's.

Bezaleel was filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. He and Aholiab of the tribe of Dan were filled with wisdom of heart to work engraving, cunning work, embroidery, weaving, and devising cunning work, and Aholiab was given in his heart to teach alongside him. The Lord put wisdom and understanding in Bezaleel and every wise-hearted man and in willing people as they cooperated with Him, so that they wrought the work in cooperation with heavenly intelligences. That work included ingenious embroidery in silver and gold by women, as well as the making of the ark, the tabernacle, and solid-gold vessels by skilled men.

The construction was an ordered, disciplined work carried out under God's supervision according to the instruction given to Moses on the mountain. God appointed different people to distinct kinds of work, giving them talents suited to their tasks, and each was to be allowed to do the work for which he was fitted so that the parts would fit together. Responsibilities were assigned so that everyone, including the children, took part. Exactitude, skill, tact, wisdom and perfection were required in the building.

God planned the work and educated the workers to do it wholeheartedly, with heart, soul and strength, as an expression of love to Him and service for His honor. Their strenuous craft labor honored God. Its methods taught practical service to God, unity, and discipline, and the wilderness journey and its lessons trained young and old in body and mind as well as in obedience to God's commandments.

Gift, Heritage, and Application

The skill, genius, wisdom, understanding and ability employed in the tabernacle work were given by God beyond what is natural, not merely from human wisdom, to carry out His will and to be used for His glory. The tabernacle itself represented His power and majesty. He called Bezaleel by name and the other workmen because they had qualifications of character, and then gave them character, aptitude and skill in all manner of workmanship, not leaving them to their own human wisdom. Their work was to accomplish a special representation of the exalted character of His service and of the sacredness of the human temple.

The skill thus conferred was inherited in large degree by their descendants in Judah and Dan, who were regarded as especially cunning in the finer arts. Skill as a gift does not by itself ensure faithful service. Some of those descendants later turned from God, lost humility and trust, became covetous, and used their God-given ability for hire in service to heathen rulers and kings, making works that dishonored their Maker. Huram, a descendant of Aholiab through his mother placed over Solomon's temple work, was unsanctified despite unusual skill and demanded high wages.

He gives the same tact, skill and wisdom today to all who have a part in His cause for doing His work. Those who would receive it must depend wholly upon Him, be willing to be controlled and guided by Him, and walk and work as accountable to God. Under His instruction His people can grow in knowledge and overcome difficulties, and those serving Him should keep learning and strive for excellence. They are to desire mental strength so they may do everything according to the pattern shown to Moses on the mount, with the same exactitude, skill, tact, wisdom and perfection required in the tabernacle.

The Lord still calls particular people by name and gives wisdom and skill for the practical work His cause requires, and is pleased when such gifted people are found when a meeting-house needs to be built in a locality. The same giving of ability is seen when He sends men to carry truth to people of a strange tongue by opening missionaries' minds to learn the language quickly, even through the help of the very people they came to help, so those people are prepared to hear the message in their own tongue. Buildings erected for Him are to honor His name through faithfulness, stability and fitness in every part, and God can likewise communicate wisdom to His people today to carry out His will. Helpers guided by the Holy Spirit can likewise receive tact and intelligence for their work, including school industry and making health foods and doing sound work that builds up the body. The calling of Bezaleel by name for skilled work shows that useful trades and craftsmanship had a place in Israel's service to God, illustrating the dignity of labor. Artisans to whom the Lord has given ability for the most skillful work must not become exalted because of their skill and aptitude.